Moth repeller



M. J. FESSLER MOTH REPELLER Filed March '7, 1932 na a ala April 10, 1934.

Patented Apr. 10, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

'Ihis invention relates to an apparatus for repelling and exterminating moths and other insects which may be seriously injurious to furs, clothing, rugs, upholstering and other house- 5 hold articles, but obviously may be used for disinfecting rooms and other enclosures in which the apparatus is installed for protecting the tenants from contagious germs.

The main object is to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive device of this character capable of being easily and quickly installed in a room or other enclosure for preventing the development and activities of moths or other insects or germs within and in the immediate vicinity of the enclosure in which it is placed by incorporating in the device a multiplicity of containers for vaporizable insecticides or germicides and to provide the device with means whereby atmospheric air may freely circulate through said device and across the surfaces of 4the containers for conveying the vapor from the interior to the exterior thereof or into the enclosure in which it is located.

One of the specic objects is to provide a new article of manufacture consisting of a housing having an air inlet and a vapor outlet port through which atmospheric air may freely circulate and to incorporate within the housing a multiplicity of absorbent elements arranged in spaced staggered relation between the ports and adapted to retain by labsorption vaporizable insecticide or germicides so that the air entering the intake port will automatically and successivelytraverse the surfaces of the absorbent bodies for conveying the vapor issuing therefrom through the outlet port and into the room in which the housing is placed.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the appartus will be brought out in the following description.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a moth and germ repelling apparatus embodying the various features of my invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the same apparatus from the rear side showing the slidable back wall as partly withdrawn.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same apparatus taken in the plane of'line 3 3, Figure 4.

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse vertical seo- 4tional view taken on line 1r-4, Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a detail horizontal sectional View taken in the plane of line 5--5, Figure 3, showing more particularly the means by which the support for one of the absorbent bodies is mounted upon the interior of the housing.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the detached shelves or supports for one of the absorbent bodies. 6

Figure 7 is a perspective View of a modified support for one of the absorbent bodies.

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional View of a modified form of my invention in which the containers for the insecticide are fastened to the back wall of the housing while the front wall is removable.

As illustrated in Figures l to 5 inclusive, the invention comprises a substantially rectangular i housing 1 of relatively thin sheet metal or equiv- 70 alent material of considerably greater height and width than its depth from front to rear, the latter being relatively shallow.

That is, the housing comprises bottom and top Walls 2 and 3, opposite end walls 4 and l and 75 front and rear walls 5 and 6, all of said walls except the rear wall being rigidly and permanently united to each other at the corners to form vair-tight joints, said rear wall 6 being slidable endwise in a vertical guide slot in one of the end walls as 4 closely adjacent the rear surface of the housing.

The rear edges of the bottom and top walls 2 and 3 are provided with flanges 8 and 8 extending relatively short distances toward each other while the rear edge of the side wall 4' is provided with an inturned flange 9.

These flanges 8 and 8 and also the flange 9 overlap upon the outer surface of the adjacent portions of the rear wall 6 when the latter is closed to form substantially vapor-tight joints with said rear wall and also to assist in guiding the rear wall in its opening and closing movements.

The bottom and top walls of the housing 1 are provided respectively `with a vapor outlet opening 10 and an air inlet opening 11, both of which are shown as located near one and the same end wall of the housing to cause the air to freely circulate from the intake port through the housing and outwardly through the exit port for convey- 100 ing the vapor liberated within the housing in a manner presently described from the interior of the housing to the exterior thereof or into the room in which the device is located as indicated by the arrows in Figure 3.

The upper flange 8 at the rear of the housing is provided with integral upturned ilanges or hangers a having apertures a for receiving nails or equivalent fastening means by which the housing may be attached to a wall or other support. 110

The' outer yupright edge of the rear sliding wall or closure 6 is provided with a forwardly projecting flange 6 adapted to overlap upon the outer face of the end wall 4 when the rear wall is closed to further close the slot '7 and thus to prevent the escape therethrough of the vapor generated within the housing, it being understood that when the rear wall 6 is closed its inner end will abut against the inner face of the end wall 4.

Suitable means is provided for generating' a moth repelling or exterminating vapor within the housing to be carried off through the exit opening 10 into the room in which the device is located and for this purpose a multiplicity of trays or shelves 12 and 12 are suitably supported with'- in the housing in vertically spaced parallel relation lengthwise thereof and preferably yin hori- Zontal planes for receiving'and supporting a corresponding number of absorbent pads or other elements 13 containing any suitable moth `repelling or exterminating substance such as camphor which is capable of generating or emitting a corresponding moth repelling or exterminating vapor lighter thanV the ambient atmosphere to be carried off throughv the exit opening 10 into the room in which the device is located'and thereby to assist in the circulation of the air through the housing in the manner previously explained.

The several trays 12 and 12 and their corresponding' elements 13 are arranged` in staggered relation from bottom toptop insuch' manner that the air is caused to travel in tortuous pathsacross the surfaces of the successive pads 13-` in transit fromthe intake port 11v to the exit port 10, while the'volume of vaporescaping from the several pads is cumulative from top to bottom and in that condition passes out through the Yexit port l'into the room in which the housing is located; thereby assuring the discharge of the insecticide or germicide vapor into the room. l v

In order to effect this tortuous travel of the air and vapor through the housing and' across the surfaces of the several pads 13, alternate trays or shelves 12 and 12 are mounted at one end upon opposite end walls'of the housing to extend the major portion of the length thereof but are slightly shorter than the distance between the end walls of the housing to form intervening passages 14'conne'cting adjacent spaces between the trays as shown more clearly in Figures 2' and 3'.

That is', one set of trays as 12 is mounted at one end upon one of the end walls as 4'of the housing while those of the other set are mounted at one end upon' the opposite end wall as Ll', the transverse widthA of each of the trays being sub'- stantially equal tothe interior depth of the' housing from front to rear or between the front and rear walls 5 and 6 and that the lower and upper trays will' be arranged in spaced relation to the corresponding bottom and top walls of the housing. It is now clear that the air entering the intake port 11 will travelv in sequence across the upper faces of the several pads 13 and likewise along the underside of the several trays 12 and 12 until it is finally discharged through the exit port 10 into the room in which the housing is l'ocated.

During this circulation of the air through the housing, the insecticide or germicide vapor emitted from the several pads 13 will gradually accumulate in volume` from top to bottomY to be finally discharged through the exit port l0 into the room aided by the natural circulation of the air, it being understood that the vapor will readily mix with the air so that the air and vapor are united at the exit port and, therefore, flow into the room with greater rapidity than would be possible with the insecticide or germicide Vapor alone without the aid of the air current.

In order to maintain the maximum efficiency of the device, it may be necessary to replenish the pads 13 with the vaporizable insecticide or germicide substance either in liquid or crystal or powder form and in order to render this operation more convenient, the several trays l2 and 12 with pads 13 thereon are removably mounted upon their respective walls and for this purpose each of the end walls is provided on its inner face with tray supporting loops 15, one for each of the' trays, supported by that wall, the loops on each wall being arranged in vertically spaced relation corresponding approximately to the spacing; of the' trays which are mounted upon said wall.

The ends of each set of trays adjacent the corresponding supporting wall are provided with downturned flanges 16 adapted to be inserted from the top downwardly into the corresponding loops Y15, thus supporting each tray at one end only and allowing theremaining portion to extend the major portion vof the length of the housing toward the opposite wall leaving the intervening spaces 14 for the successive passage of the air and vapor therethrough from bottomv to top of the housing.

l As previously stated, the transverse width of each tray is substantially equal to the depth of the housing from front to rear between the walls 5 and 6 while the pads 13 cover substantially the entire areas of their respective trays, each pad being removably held in operative position upon its'tray by means of overturned flanges 1'1- and 18 forming integral parts of the tray and preferably located near opposite ends thereof.

That is, each of the trays shown in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive is provided along one edge with an upturned flange 19 of about the vertical depth of the pad 13, the overturned flange 18 being formed upon one end of the flange 19 while the overturned flange 17 is preferably formed upon the free end of the bottom of the tray as shown more clearly in Figure 6.

The modified form of tray shown in Figure '7 is provided with upturned marginal flanges 20 extending along its oppositel lengthwise edges and ends to form what may be termed ay box tray in which the pad 13 may be supported.

In the modified construction shown in Figure 8, the shelves 12 and 12 are riveted or otherwise secured to the back wall of the housing l which, in turn,v is provided with a movable front wall or cover 6 as distinguished from the sliding cover 6 shown in Figures 2, 3 and 5, thereby avoiding the necessity of the loops 15 and flanges 16 and at the same time utilizing the shelves or trays as a means for reinforcing or stiffening the housing.

What I claim is:

1. A moth repeller comprising an upright rectangular housing having an intake port and an exit port in a plane some distance above the intake port, and a multiplicity of vaporizable insecticide containers supported in spaced staggered relation within the housing between said openings, and each containing a vaporizable insecticide.

2. In a moth repeller, an upright substantially rectangular housing having openings in opposite walls facilitating circulation through the housing, one side of said housing constituting a door slidable laterally to and from its closed position, a plurality of horizontal trays arranged vertically spaced parallel relation between said openings and elongated in the direction of movement of the door with the longitudinal side edges of the trays engaged with the door and opposite Wall, said trays being arranged in groups with alternate trays having one end releasably attached to one of the upright walls of the housing and With the free ends of the trays terminating in spaced relation to the opposite walls, absorbent pads on said trays containing a vaporizable germicide and said sliding door permitting access to and mounting of the tray in the housing.

3. A moth repeller comprising a substantially upright housing having openings in opposite Walls facilitating circulation through the housing, loops secured to opposite upright Walls of the housing in vertically spaced relation, trays having flanges slidably inserted in said loops and supporting the trays in parallel horizontal planes, alternate trays being supported on one Wall with the ends of the trays opposite the supports spaced from the opposite Wall and said trays having their side edges engaged with the adjacent Walls of the housing, absorbent pads supported in said trays and each containing a vaporizable germicide and means carried by the trays for retaining the absorbent pads therein.

MARCUS J. FESSLER. 

